All boaters should take a USCG approved Safe Boating Course in order to develop basic navigation and safety skills on the water. Paddlers, especially kayakers have special considerations since they are not quickly maneuverable, present low visibility and poor radar detectability. Paddlers should always observe the "Tonnage" rule and give way to anything larger!

What are "Primary" Navigation Aids?

Beacons and buoys are primary Nav-aids. Beacons are fixed structures on land or in water and may or may not be lighted. Buoys are floating aids, moored to the seabed and convey information by shape, color and visible or audible signals.

What is the basic rule of channel navigation?

In the USA, the "3R" rule "Red-Right-Returning" describes the buoy color rule for safe passage when moving from a large body of water into a smaller, travelling upstream, or navigating clockwise around a land mass. Boating channels should be avoided by paddlers and only crossed orthogonally and quickly preferrably as a tight group or "pod".

• What are "Lateral" aids to navigation?
• What are "Preferred" channel markers?
• How are "Range" marks used?
• What do "Regulatory" and "Special" marks convey?

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